Matt Shaw Made Changes with Iowa Cubs—But Not the Ones You'd Think

[Jason Ross]

Image courtesy of © Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images

If you were hoping that you'd click on this article, open it up and read that Matt Shaw had either changed his setup or gotten rid of his leg kick, then I have bad news for you; he hasn't. Shaw's general batting stance, load, and leg kick are all in a very similar form to what you saw earlier this year in Chicago; there is no massive overhaul underway on those aspects of his swing. If he didn't fix the two things many wanted him to fix, how, then, has he made any changes? The answer is far more subtle, but I think it's quite meaningful.

Let's first remind ourselves what Shaw looked like during his time with the Cubs. I've chosen a hit Shaw recorded in a game against the Padres on April 5. Here's a video of the hit in question. Shaw was up 2-1 in the count against Padres starter Nick Pivetta. The pitch is a cutter located belt-high, on the outer third of the plate. Pivetta's cutter does not grade out particularly well based on Stuff+. This is a pitch you'd think Shaw should do damage on. The result? A weak "single" (it's a single in the scorebook, but the 88-mph ground ball had an xBA of .150 on it) to the right side. It was not quality contact, and he was clearly lucky to come away with a positive outcome.

Weak ground balls were far too frequent during the rookie's first ride of the senior circuit. Shaw is always going to be a bit of a groundball merchant at times; it comes with the territory of a high-contact, aggressive hitter: They can get sucked into swinging at less-than-excellent pitches. It's what you get when you trade power for contact. But this isn't necessarily a pitch Shaw should struggle to hit hard the other way. 

Let's compare this to a plate appearance the Cubs' youngster took Thursday evening against the St. Paul Saints. Shaw was up to hit in the ninth inning. Saints pitcher Brady Feigl is a long-time Triple-A veteran, as the 34-year-old has been in professional baseball since 2014, even making a few appearances with the Pirates in 2024. He's not a chump, anyway. Feigl started Shaw off with a changeup a bit higher than belt-high, but the same general area as the Pivetta pitch. Like the Pivetta pitch, this one was located on the outer third of the strike zone. Unlike our previous example, though, Shaw deposited the ball into the right-center-field bleachers with a 102-MPH exit velocity, for a walk-off home run. It was his second of the day.

Your initial response is likely, "I don't see anything different," and on my initial watch, I didn't see much different, either. He's still got the awkward, toe-in setup (the video from his home run with the I-Cubs gives you a really great side shot in all of its glory). He's still using the same leg kick. The pitch is in the same general area. Feigl isn't Pivetta, but Pivetta's cutter isn't a great pitch. But then I saw it. It's subtle, but it's his front shoulder and the posture of his top half that have changed.

Sadly, the I-Cubs feed is not shot in HD, so it's a bit fuzzy, but you can kind of see it if you're looking. There are two small changes here. The first is that he appears, during his leg kick, to remain a bit more upright on the top half. He's staying taller. The second is that the front shoulder is slightly less closed-off, and less tucked in. It's hard to capture in the video above, as the feed cuts very quickly from the side-view to the pitch, but you can really see it on his first home run of the day, below. This home run was also on a pitch on the outer third—a fastball that was actually a ball, according to Statcast. Shaw hit a home run to right on this pitch, as well.

Once again, note that the top half remains taller and he's less hunched, but also the front shoulder is in a slightly more open position. What this allows him to do is clear through his top half better and stay through the ball. With a closed-off and tucked-in front shoulder and elbow, it becomes just a bit more difficult to clear on the swing; his own body was acting as a barrier. That forced extra rotation and for him to pull off the ball. With his home runs, and with his shoulder in a slightly more open position to begin with, he wasn't fighting his own top half anymore. Instead, he gave himself a little added flexibility. Look at the point of contact between the two swings. Remember, these are both pitches in the same general area.

You can also take note of where Shaw's back side (and where his top half, in general) is. He hits a ground ball against the Padres for a few reasons. His back side isn't able to stay tall and lift the ball, and his entire top half has to rotate more to clear his closed-off front shoulder. On the home run, he's able to stay "outside-in," as an old-hitting coach would say. He doesn't rely as much on rotating his shoulders (or at least, that rotation occurs more organically), and his backside stays in a position where he can lift the ball. 

This represents a much more subtle change than eliminating a leg kick or changing his stance; baseball is literally a game of inches. Those inches are the difference between a 100-MPH home run to right-center field and a weak topper to second base. They're also how a slump happens. When you're just an inch or two off with your swing, it messes with everything. Not every fix requires a full swing overhaul. Funky can work, as long as the sum of the parts results in good contact.

Shaw's swing looks much better. There are times in which he doesn't use the big leg kick, and there are times he does. Friday night, one day after the two homers I highlighted above, Shaw hit two more home runs against the Saints again. This time, he didn't use the kick on either of them. But his first home run was, once again, to the opposite field. It came off former top prospect Tyler Beede, on a cutter. And once again, note the upper body and point of contact:

All of this is just a very long way to say; Matt Shaw's swing is back—literally and figueatively. And with his swing back, it's likely we see him back in Chicago sooner, rather than later. The swing feels fluid again, and he doesn't look like he's fighting himself, like he was earlier this year. I expect when he comes back, we'll see a better run from the Cubs' top position-player prospect, because of these very subtle changes. 

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What do you think of Matt Shaw's changes? Do you think these will help the infielder hit better in his second go? When would you like to see him come back? Let us know in the comment section below!

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[Matthew Trueblood]

I wish I could say I feel confident this will translate back to the majors. I don't think this adjustment is sufficient, or that he's gonna end up being able to help the Cubs much this year. But good analysis, Jason. I do think this is what you can do in-season, and then if/when it doesn't allow him to rake in the majors, you can go to work on a bigger, overdue set of changes this winter. Still have some hope for him as a prospect, partially because of the adaptability and the swing properties you point out here.

[Jason Ross]

13 minutes ago, Matthew Trueblood said:

I wish I could say I feel confident this will translate back to the majors. I don't think this adjustment is sufficient, or that he's gonna end up being able to help the Cubs much this year. But good analysis, Jason. I do think this is what you can do in-season, and then if/when it doesn't allow him to rake in the majors, you can go to work on a bigger, overdue set of changes this winter. Still have some hope for him as a prospect, partially because of the adaptability and the swing properties you point out here.

I'm probably more bullish on this working, but I'll admit, I'm a fan of weird - it spices up our lives. I find the Rockies decent into utter madness more interesting than I probably should because they're the one team zigging (poorly, they're so poor at everything) when the rest of the baseball world zags in unison. Clearly they're the anti-spice argument. But it's probably why I like my Gary Sheffields, David Justices, and Tony Bautistas. Funky is fun. And Shaw is funky. 

End result will probably result with him getting more in line with how we envision a good swing going, but I'm really hoping he can stay funky and good. Baseball is more fun that way.

[Jason Ross]

19 minutes ago, Matthew Trueblood said:

I wish I could say I feel confident this will translate back to the majors. I don't think this adjustment is sufficient, or that he's gonna end up being able to help the Cubs much this year. But good analysis, Jason. I do think this is what you can do in-season, and then if/when it doesn't allow him to rake in the majors, you can go to work on a bigger, overdue set of changes this winter. Still have some hope for him as a prospect, partially because of the adaptability and the swing properties you point out here.

Well, we'll probably get our wish soon. 

Shockingly, Shaw isn't in the I-Cub lineup. With an off day tomorrow for the Triple-A team...wonder why *that* might suggest?

[JD94]

3 hours ago, Jason Ross said:

Well, we'll probably get our wish soon. 

Shockingly, Shaw isn't in the I-Cub lineup. With an off day tomorrow for the Triple-A team...wonder why *that* might suggest?

Think I saw a report that he hasn’t been spotted in the dugout either 

[Jason Ross]

14 minutes ago, JD94 said:

Think I saw a report that he hasn’t been spotted in the dugout either 

[CubinNY]

The only thing that was wrong with Shaw is that he didn’t have a real spring training to get himself on time. 
 

 

[Jason Ross]

32 minutes ago, CubinNY said:

The only thing that was wrong with Shaw is that he didn’t have a real spring training to get himself on time. 
 

 

It could have been. But I also dont think a full ST would have necessarily fixed this. It very well could have been oblique related. But sometimes hitters come out of their best swing for a while. 

Regardless of *why* its clear *something* was off. And that something *appears* to be fixed. And now its very likely based on reports that Shaw will meet the team in South Beach.

[Jason Ross]

Jesse Rogers confirmation. Shaw has been recalled and will meet team in Miami.

[craig]

Fun that he'll be back!  Hope he gets some hits and helps the team.  :):). 

Couple thoughts.

1. Jason, you do a nice video analysis of two swings at different points, and notice some nuanced differences.  I agree that small differences can result in massively different results. 
2. Here is my question:  How consistent is any hitter (or pitcher) from pitch-to-pitch?  If you look at 20 swings the week of the Pivetta pitch, vs 20 swings this week, can you see some consistency of adjustment/improvement?  Or is the variation in the two swings well within the random standard deviation that any hitter has from swing to swing?  Two pitches to the same spot, but one was set up a little different, or Shaw was guessing a little different, or read the pitcher's delivery a little differently, and Shaw's swing looks a little different?  If he saw the same HR pitch the next day from a different guy in a different context, might his swing perhaps look like the pivetta itch again?  A second day vs a second pitcher in a different game situation, might not leg kick be different on Friday than it was on Thursday?  Or, are there mechanical things that really are different one month later?  I don't really know. 
3. Similar for pitchers:  The same guy on the same day locates some, and mis-locates some others.  Keller today throws a bunch of nice pitches, but has one that;s way out of whack and hits Vargas (?).  Some range of inconsistency is natural, yes?  
4. For Shaw, I wonder if a funky process might perhaps always render him something of a hot-and-cold guy?  I think he's trended that way in the minors. Some guys just have a harder time.  

[Jason Ross]

9 hours ago, craig said:

Fun that he'll be back!  Hope he gets some hits and helps the team.  :):). 

Couple thoughts.

1. Jason, you do a nice video analysis of two swings at different points, and notice some nuanced differences.  I agree that small differences can result in massively different results. 
2. Here is my question:  How consistent is any hitter (or pitcher) from pitch-to-pitch?  If you look at 20 swings the week of the Pivetta pitch, vs 20 swings this week, can you see some consistency of adjustment/improvement?  Or is the variation in the two swings well within the random standard deviation that any hitter has from swing to swing?  Two pitches to the same spot, but one was set up a little different, or Shaw was guessing a little different, or read the pitcher's delivery a little differently, and Shaw's swing looks a little different?  If he saw the same HR pitch the next day from a different guy in a different context, might his swing perhaps look like the pivetta itch again?  A second day vs a second pitcher in a different game situation, might not leg kick be different on Friday than it was on Thursday?  Or, are there mechanical things that really are different one month later?  I don't really know. 
3. Similar for pitchers:  The same guy on the same day locates some, and mis-locates some others.  Keller today throws a bunch of nice pitches, but has one that;s way out of whack and hits Vargas (?).  Some range of inconsistency is natural, yes?  
4. For Shaw, I wonder if a funky process might perhaps always render him something of a hot-and-cold guy?  I think he's trended that way in the minors. Some guys just have a harder time.  

So, the more moving parts the more that can go wrong. If you want a yellow flag on Shaw, a lot of it, IMO, comes back to that. Here's thing thing; outside of this year, he's not really had any extended slumps. He'd struggle a bit at the start of a level, maybe, but he never went 30 days where he was just bad. Maybe he was too good for his levels. Maybe he's more capable of keeping that under control. If you want to explain this away, obliques are there on your hip, which is the connection between "top" and "bottom" and he had issues with his top half, it appears. So maybe this stems from that. Maybe it doesn't, but maybe it does? 

No one is fully consistent, it's impossible. We'd be robots. But I think with less movement it becomes easier to repeat.

We'll see what he does at the highest level more and more. The hope is that he can be funky and be fine. If it isn't, the Cubs have had successes with PCA and Amaya mid-year in fixing swing flaws while going through an MLB grind, so it's not impossible to suggest Shaw could do the same. 

[Jssanto]

If you were to draw a line at the bottom of the glutes and go from the right to the left, that line is at a greater upward angle in the minor league photo then in the major league photo. Similarly, if you drew a line across the top of his shoulders, that line is a more downward angle in the minor league photo.

I don’t know how it changes the bat swing, but his torso is different in the two photos.

How does this compare to prior AAA, AA, A ball from prior years?

Was this a hitting coach suggestion?

Should that high leg kick be changed or even removed?

[NorthsideAvenger]

17 hours ago, Jason Ross said:

Jesse Rogers confirmation. Shaw has been recalled and will meet team in Miami.

Sounds like Nicky Lopez will be the corresponding move. 

[craig]

Interesting with Lopez.  He got cut in camp, and he's got zero offense, so hardly surprising.  But I'd thought he might stick as a defensive replacement for Shaw.  This would seem to make Shaw a 9-inning guy, given that Brujan and Berti haven't looked like defensive-replacement guys.